Let's be alone together
by lovethatignites
Summary: "If you know she's with Travis, why did you come back to Rosewood?" "If you know everyone hates you, why did you?" Calison oneshot.


**A/N: This is something I wrote in April while waiting for season 5 to air. Title is a line from Alone Together by Fall Out Boy.**

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Alison DiLaurentis walked into the Apple Rose Grille on a Saturday morning to find not much had changed. The scent of freshly baked pastries filled the air, soft rock music played through the speakers in the ceiling, and singles and couples were seated at tables, booths, and the open seating area, studying and catching up. Just like old times. Alison pulled up a stool and situated herself at the vacant counter, setting her purse on the stool next to her. No one aside from the bus boy noticed her presence.

"What would you like, Miss?" he asked. He seemed younger, maybe fourteen or fifteen. According to his name badge, he was Connor.

Alison opened her mouth to ask for a dry martini, but then she remembered she didn't have her fake ID. She hadn't even seen it in years, let alone used it. Being back in Rosewood was causing her to confuse the past with the present. She extracted a few bills from her wallet and handed them over. "I'll have a glass of water, lemon on the side."

"Coming right up."

Alison dropped her wallet back in her purse and checked her newly purchased iPhone for the hundredth time. No surprise: she had no new messages and no missed called. She didn't know why she kept checking; doing so only led to disappointment. Her first day back to Rosewood High was in just two days. She'd been hoping to spend some time catching up with the girls before her big return, maybe go on a Saturday outing to the Rosewood Mall. But here she was, spending her Saturday morning alone at the Grille.

Ever since she'd returned to town two weeks ago, the girls had barely spoken to her. Aria was constantly visiting Ezra in the hospital. Spencer was busy "bonding" with Melissa which was just downright suspicious. Hanna was always with Travis, trying to commit to a relationship with him. Even Emily didn't have time to give Alison a call. If she wasn't at swim practice, she was talking about swim practice with her new girlfriend and fellow swimmer, Sydney. It was like Alison didn't exist to them anymore.

It was as if she really was dead.

But she certainly wasn't dead to the rest of the town. Channel 4 Action News had interviewed her. They'd done a big expose on why she'd faked her death and how, and she'd made up every single word she told them. She couldn't talk about how A still existed and she couldn't rat out Noel.

Noel, who wasn't taking her calls, probably because he was afraid she would try to make him come out of hiding. She had no idea where he was, but she knew the feeling of not wanting to be found. So she wasn't looking for him, even though she wanted to. Ever since A had driven Shana out of town, Noel had become the only person Alison could be completely open with. And now she didn't have him, either. A sure was good at isolating her.

Alison hadn't received any texts or threats from A since she returned, which was more unsettling than anything else. She had a hunch A was still texting her friends, and if he/she was, that meant the girls weren't telling her. But why would they keep something like that from her? A existed because of her; she needed to be in the loop so she could help put an end to him/her.

She especially needed to be in the loop because A had her mother. Alison was positive A was behind Jessica's disappearance, and while she knew reuniting with her mother would be an emotional roller coaster ride, she desperately wanted to find her. But she didn't even know where to start, not to mention she didn't need the police on her case. They said they were doing everything they could to find Jessica, but Alison knew more than anyone how helpless the police could be. And as much as she wanted to tip them off about A, she couldn't. She refused to put her mother's life at risk like that.

At least she was concerned, which was more than she could say for her father. Kenneth was so busy dating some new mystery woman it seemed he hadn't even taken note of his ex-wife's disappearance. Or of his daughter's return, for that matter. He'd moved back into the DiLaurentis house in Rosewood but he was never actually home. Some things never changed.

Jason, however, was being consumed by Jessica's disappearance. If he wasn't moping around, he was making private phone calls, probably to a private investigator. Alison wouldn't be surprised if he'd hired one to find their mother. She tried to stay out of Jason's way, but now that he couldn't drown his sorrows in drugs and alcohol, he was taking his emotions out on her. He alternated between treating Alison like dirt and pretending she was invisible, both of which bothered her more than she'd admit.

Being in that house hurt too much. The governor of Rosewood had granted Alison a two-week grace period to settle in before making her return to school. She was supposed to have spent the past two weeks getting back into the swing of things. Instead, she'd spent it taking the bus from one place to the next, avoiding her house like the plague.

She didn't understand. Sure, she'd done some bad things, but these people were supposed to be her family. Shouldn't they have been filled with joy to know she was alive?

The Grille door opened and in walked a tall guy wearing a ski cap. Alison kept her eyes on her phone, but she could tell from her peripheral vision he was about her age.

"What'll it be, Mr. Rivers?"

"A bagel and coffee, black," the guy replied.

_Mr. Rivers?_

Alison looked up and examined the guy. He had short dark hair underneath his cap and there was some stubble on his chin. She'd seen him before, she was sure of it, but she couldn't remember where. Why couldn't she place him? Was her impeccable memory fading alongside her popularity?

The guy noticed her gaze and when the two locked eyes, his eyebrows crinkled.

"I like my coffee black, too," she blurted by means of explanation. It was a lie, but the truth would have sounded weird.

The guy blinked and slowly tilted his head. "Do I… know you?" He took the stool next to her purse and said, "Sorry for staring, I just… I feel like I've seen you before."

Or maybe it wouldn't have.

"Here you are, Miss," Connor said as he returned to the counter and placed Alison's lemon water in front of her. "Sorry for the wait."

She smiled at him, reached for her glass, and returned her eyes to the mystery guy. "You've probably seen me on posters, in the news… 'She's missing,' 'She's dead,' 'Just kidding; she's a survivor'?"

The guy's mouth dropped. "Alison? _The_ Alison DiLaurentis?"

She tipped the glass in his direction before taking a sip. "The one and only."

"Wow. I've heard the horror stories, but… Actually meeting you… Wow."

"Horror stories. Right. For a second, I actually forgot everyone in this town hates me."

"From what I've heard, they have good reasons to."

"So that's it? Your opinion of me is already set?" _You won't give me a chance and decide for yourself if I'm still the person I was before?_

He took a moment to think about it. "If you would've asked me that a couple months ago, I would have said yes. But a couple months ago, I was an atheist." He got a disturbed, faraway look in his eyes. "Things change."

Relief flooded Alison's veins and she smiled a little. "Do I know you? Because I feel like I've seen you before, too."

"The name's Caleb Rivers." He extended his hand.

And just like that, the relief vanished.

"Caleb. Right." She took his hand and shook. "Hanna's Caleb."

"Um, no. Not anymore. We, uh… We broke up."

"Well, duh. I'm not _that_ out of the loop." She rolled her eyes. "I just figured you were here to win her back."

"I don't think that's in the cards," Caleb replied firmly. "Word is she's getting pretty serious about that stalker of hers."

"If you know she's with Travis, why did you come back to Rosewood?"

"If you know everyone hates you, why did you?"

"Your bagel and coffee, Mr. Rivers," Connor announced as he placed Caleb's order in front of him. But Caleb was too busy waiting on Alison's reply to acknowledge him.

The blonde traced the rim of the glass with her index finger. "That's a long story."

"Lucky for you, Alison," he said, sliding his plate toward her and swapping seats with her purse, "I've got nothing better to do than hear it."

The corners of her mouth slowly turned up into a smile. "Lucky for you, Caleb," she said, swiveling on her stool to face him, "I've got nothing better to do than tell it."


End file.
